Earnhardt's Death Spurs Changes

RACING SAFETY - Will anything change?

Nascar Drivers Have Embraced A Device That Might Have Saved "the Intimidator.''

July 7, 2001|By Ed Hinton, Sentinel Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- There may be no more profound status report on the advancement of safety in NASCAR since the death of Dale Earnhardt than this: Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Ward Burton and Roy "Buckshot" Jones are alive.

All four drivers have, since Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, survived crashes into concrete walls at angles known to be conducive to basilar skull fracture, the injury that killed Earnhardt.

And all four, unlike Earnhardt, were voluntarily wearing head-restraint devices when they crashed -- Waltrip and Burton at Fontana, Calif., on April 29, and Gordon and Jones at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., on May 19.

"What we're seeing here is great success," said Dr. John Melvin, a Detroit-based biomechanical engineer who is one of the world's leading authorities on racing safety. "Very significant progress has been made when you look at the number of people wearing the HANS [head-and-neck-support system], the things they're doing to strengthen seats, drivers going to six-point belts, and various configurations of nets [inside the driver compartment, to help limit head movement in crashes]."

Although NASCAR has recommended the use of head-and-neck restraints, it still refuses to require its drivers to wear them. And NASCAR remains the only major racing organization without a traveling medical unit or on-board crash recorders. But with or without NASCAR's involvement, safety innovations are on the way:

New seats: A revolutionary seat, a sort of survival cell made of composite materials, has been developed by a joint effort of two Winston Cup teams and Ford Motor Co., and has been tested by Melvin at the bioengineering facilities of Wayne State University in Detroit.

High-tech bumpers: Two energy-absorbing systems for the fronts of cars are under development, and one, nicknamed the "Humpy Bumper" by designing engineer Paul Lew, could be in use in races by mid-August, Lew said.

Traveling medical unit: A movement is quietly under way to establish a specialized unit for NASCAR, which is the only major form of motor racing that doesn't have one. Organizers of the effort say they've gotten positive responses from as high as Jim France, younger brother of NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr., and therefore the second-most-powerful man in stock-car racing.

On-board crash recorders: After lobbying by several drivers, especially three-time Winston Cup champion Gordon and two-time champion Terry Labonte, NASCAR officials acknowledge they are considering implementation of on-board devices -- which have been in use since the mid-1990s by the other two top American forms of motor racing, Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc. and the Indy Racing League.

"I think that will come," said Melvin, who designed and developed the first computerized crash recorders for the two open-wheel series. "But I wouldn't imagine they could do it before next year."

Soft walls: NASCAR president Mike Helton said, "We continue the testing we began last year on wall materials [for energy dissipating `soft walls'] and materials inside the car, and the configuration of those materials, in hopes something can be done to absorb the energy" of crashes.

Effective for tonight's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR has mandated a minimum drivers-window height of 17 inches, to better accommodate the entry and rapid exit from cars by drivers who wear the HANS or other head-restraint systems. All but six in the 43-car field will wear head-restraints -- a radical turnaround from the Daytona 500 in February, when only seven drivers wore the devices.

All in all, there is more focus on safety innovation, by more drivers, teams, engineers and scientists, than ever before in the 53-year history of NASCAR.

"There's a whole lot of people out there thinking about this," Melvin said.

VALUE TO INVESTIGATION?Helton said NASCAR is on schedule to announce results "in early August" of its highly publicized internal investigation of Earnhardt's fatal accident -- and that the deaths in 2000 of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and Tony Roper have been "incorporated" into that investigation.

Helton said, "Our position of not speculating, or not answering those who do speculate, has led to the implication that we're secretive and trying to create a conspiracy. And that's unfortunate."

But some are skeptical.

"I don't expect a lot," said Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motor Sports Inc., the second-largest operator of racetracks -- six -- on the Winston Cup tour. "I think we already have the answers."